Method for monitoring and reporting changes in the value of real estate

ABSTRACT

This invention discloses a process involving automatic notification to interested individuals of current real estate values. The process consists of a monitoring service entity, external data source, and end-user. The disclosed embodiments include a process whereby parties can be directly notified of real estate values or alternatively may initiate contact with the monitoring entity to receive data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/173,440, filed Jul. 1, 2005, the entire contents of which are eachhereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates, generally, to a process for monitoring andreporting real estate valuation; more particularly to a process in whichinterested individuals can be automatically notified of recent propertysales and changes in values in particular neighborhoods.

2. Description of the Related Art

Setting the optimum selling price for real estate property is crucial toa successful and profitable sale. An overpriced property can sit on themarket for a year or more. An underpriced property may sell quickly, butfor potentially far less money than it is actually worth. So before aproperty is sold, it is essential to know the property's true marketvalue in today's ever-changing real estate market.

Traditionally, buyers or sellers of real estate contact real estateagents, brokers, or the like, to determine the value of real estatewithin a certain location. The problem with this method is that manyindividuals are reluctant to initiate contact with real estate agents orbrokers for fear of having to commit to a sale or purchase, or fear ofgetting locked into an exclusive contract to pay a commission. Anotherproblem is that the agent or broker, without being asked in advance,neither monitors nor notifies potentially interested parties aboutup-to-the minute changes in the property values within a certain givenlocation. Even if agents were able to monitor changes in propertyvalues, the time and commitment required would be cost-prohibitive forthe agents, particularly given that there is no assurance that suchclose monitoring would lead to closing any particular transaction forwhich that broker or agent would be certain to earn a commission.Sellers of real estate have another problem in that they have to pay tohave the value of their real estate assessed and later pay again if themarket changed before the sale has been closed.

Therefore, there has been a long felt need in the art for a method toallow people to monitor their property values, a process which isautomated, accurate, and able to notify the interested individual on aregular basis at low cost and without the necessity of a personalrelationship with an agent or a broker.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention is directed towards overcoming the above shortcomings bydisclosing a method of monitoring real estate values that is automatedand able to report directly to interested individuals.

In one embodiment, the method to monitor real estate values comprisesevaluating an initial property valuation of the property of interest;monitoring periodically for the most recent local sales; determining anestimated property value of the property of interest; and notifyingclients of the estimated property value and most recent local sales, andhow the most recent local sales affect the estimated property value ofthe property of interest.

In another embodiment, the evaluating part comprises using at least onealgorithm and at least one data set within a monitoring servicecomputer.

In a further embodiment, the evaluating part comprises using informationfrom a third party.

In one advantageous embodiment of the invention, the monitoring partcomprises using at least one data set and at least one algorithm withinthe monitoring service computer. Alternatively, the monitoring partinvolves an individual randomly contacting the monitoring servicecomputer.

A method to monitor real estate is disclosed wherein the determiningpart comprises a method of calculating the most recent local sale usinglatitude and longitude coordinates from data sets or from areal estateservice, checking the most recent local sale's longitude and latitudecoordinates against the property of interest's coordinates, and thendetermining whether the estimated property value for the most recentlocal sale is within a particular price range.

In one embodiment, the price range is a universal range. In a furtherembodiment, the price range is individually determined for each propertymonitored at the time of the initial property valuation.

In another embodiment, the method to monitor real estate involvesrecording the identities of the properties used as most recent localsale and the property of interest receiving the estimated property valuein the monitoring service computer.

Further, a method to monitor real estate values is disclosed, where thenotifying part comprises contacting individual consumers by electronicmeans. Alternatively, third parties could be contacted by electronicmeans.

In one embodiment of the invention, the method to monitor real estatevalues further comprises displaying a map of the neighborhood of theproperty of interest, the estimated property value, and the most recentlocal sales information. In another embodiment, the method comprisesdisplaying an equity calculator. In a further embodiment, the method tomonitor real estate values comprises displaying an equity history overtime of the property of interest.

Further, a system to monitor real estate values is disclosed whichcomprises a means for evaluating an initial property value of theproperty of interest; a means for checking periodically for the mostrecent local sales; a means for determining the estimated property valueof the property of interest based upon the most recent local sales; anda means for notifying clients of the most recent local sale, and how themost recent local sales affect the estimated property value of theproperty of interest.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the relationships between theparties.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the information sent from theExternal Data Source to the Data Base within the Monitoring Service.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating commands being sent into the DataProcessor within the Monitoring Service and the reports generated by theMonitoring Service.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a computer screen form to be filled out bythe end-user to request the monitoring service to monitor a property ofinterest.

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a report displayed on a computer screenused by the monitoring service to notify end-users of the EPV and MRLSdata.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows the external data source 10 in relationship with themonitoring service 11 which is in relations hip with the end-user 15.The monitoring service comprises data base 12, data processor 13, andserver 14 components.

FIG. 2 shows information flowing from one or numerous external datasources. This information or data sets includes, but is not limited to,real estate information from tax rolls 16, deed information (most recentsales) 17, periodic data updates (transactions) 18, periodic dataupdates (properties) 19, and other public records and real estateinformation. The external data source(s) 10 will send information to themonitoring service 11 using ASCII file, FTP or similar electronic link,or with human intervention using a CD or DVD-ROM or other portable datastorage means. The data will be sent periodically in an automatic manneras determined by algorithms, or when desired as determined by humanoperators using a computer, a web browser, and a graphical userinterface (GUI) operably connected to the external data source's serveror computer.

The monitoring service 11 consists of data base 12, data processor 13,and server 14. The data base 12 is comprised of information obtainedfrom the external data sources that consist of data sets such asproperty information from tax rolls 16, deed information (most recentsales) 17, periodic data updates (transactions) 18, periodic dataupdates (properties) 19, and other public records and real estateinformation. The database 12 will also record information computed byalgorithms within the data processor such as, but not limited to, mostrecent listed sales (MRLS) 20 and estimated property value (EPV) 21.

The data processor 13 within the monitoring service 11 consists ofseveral different algorithms whose function includes, but is not limitedto, (i) monitoring properties of interest (ii) calculating the mostrecent listed sales (MRLS) 20, (iii) calculating the estimated propertyvalue (EPV) 21 and (iv) calculating changes in property values.

The data processor 13 monitors properties using algorithms. Forinstance, the following algorithms can be used to monitor interestedproperties:

If X count of props can be found within Y radius then send notificationto the end user.

If the property type is A, B, or C and within a certain geographic areasend notification to the end user.

Other than using algorithms, notification can be initiated via humanoperator intervention using a computer, web browser, and a graphicaluser interface (GUI) operably connected to the monitoring service'sserver or computer.

The data processor 13 determines the initial property valuation (IPV)with algorithms using data sets within the data base 12 including, butnot limited to, real property information from tax rolls 16, deedinformation (most recent sales) 17, periodic data updates (transactions)18, periodic data updates (properties) 19, and other public records andreal estate services.

The processor also performs calculations of MRLS using latitude andlongitude coordinates from data sets within the data base or from realestate services, checks each MRLS property's longitude and latitudecoordinates against the coordinates of the property of interest, andthen determine whether the estimated property value of the MRLS iswithin a particular range. The price range can be either a universalrange or one that is individually determined for each property monitoredat the time of the initial valuation. The identities of the propertiesused as recognized MRLS are recorded in the database 12.

Calculation of the EPV or its updated valuation is based on algorithmswithin the data processor 13 using data sets within the database 12 thatincludes, but is not limited to, real property information from taxrolls 16, deed Information (most recent sales) 17, periodic data updates(transactions) 18, periodic data updates (properties) 19, and all MRLSdata for a monitored property after so many number of MRLS have beendiscovered. The identities of the properties receiving the EPV arerecorded in the database 12.

The server 14 links the monitoring service to the internet. Themonitoring service receives and transmits information respectively tothe external data source 10 and the end-user 15.

FIG. 3 illustrates that the end-user entities 15 can request from themonitoring service 11 functions such as, but not limited to, whichproperties are to be monitored 22, which properties to stop monitoring23, MRLS maps 24, MRLS listings 25, and listings 26 of individuals orparties that should be notified of EPV 21 and MRLS 20 data.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a computer screen form to be filled out bythe end-user 15 to request the monitoring service 11 to monitor aproperty of interest.

FIG. 5 illustrates a report displayed on a computer screen used by themonitoring service to notify end-users 15 of the EPV 21 and MRLS 20data.

The end-user entity 15 can be directly notified by the monitoringservice 11 using electronic means, or the end-user can initiate contactwith the monitoring entity via electronic means. Here, the notificationcan also be personalized as if it came from a third party. The end-user15 can be either individual consumers, or third party entities who areinterested in providing information to their clients. Data from thisnotification process including, but not limited to, a record of the needto make the notification, a record of the fact that the notification wasactually made via a certain manner, and when necessary, a record thatnotification was made but sent back (and noting what the reason was)will all be recorded in the database 12 of the monitoring service'scomputer for further use.

The end-user entity 15 is comprised of a computer, a web enabledbrowser, and a graphical user interface (GUI) operably connected to saidend user's server or computer.

1.-15. (canceled)
 16. A computing system configured to renderinteractive user interfaces configured for displaying an evaluation of areal estate property, the computing system comprising: a computerprocessor; a database repository storing sales data for real estateproperties; and a non-transitory computer readable storage mediumstoring program instructions configured for execution by the computerprocessor in order to cause the computing system to: generate first userinterface data configured for rendering on a remote user computer toprovide user interface elements usable by the user to select a firstreal estate property for which a price estimate is desired; transmit thefirst user interface data to the remote user computer; receive datacorresponding to the selected first real estate property from said firstinteractive user interface; access a database including associationsbetween each of a plurality of geographical areas and a correspondingplurality of real estate properties within the respective geographicalareas; based on said access, identify a geographical area correspondingto the first real estate property indicated in the received data;determine a plurality of real estate properties within the identifiedgeographical area; querying the database repository for sales data forthe plurality of real estate properties during a first time period, saidsales data including at least sales prices for each of the plurality ofreal estate properties over the first time period; identify a subset ofthe plurality of real estate properties within the identifiedgeographical area as most recent local sales for use in generating theprice estimate for the first real estate property; based on sales datafor the identified most recent listed sales of real estate properties,evaluate changes of value in sales prices over the first time period;generate, for the first real estate property, a price estimate based atleast in part on said evaluation of changes of value in the most recentlisted sales; generate second user interface data for rendering a seconduser interface on the remote user computer, said second user interfacedata including: the generated price estimate of the first real estateproperty, and sales data for at least one of the most recent listedsales over the first time period; and transmit the second user interfacedata to the remote user computer.
 17. The computing system of claim 16,wherein said identifying the subset of the plurality of real estateproperties as most recent local sales comprises selecting real estateproperties of the plurality of real estate properties having sales datawithin a price range as most recent local sales and excluding realestate properties of the plurality of real estate properties havingsales data outside of the price range from the subset of real estateproperties identified as most recent local sales.
 18. The computingsystem of claim 16, wherein said second user interface data furthercomprises historical values of the first real estate property.
 19. Thecomputing system of claim 16, wherein said second user interface datafurther comprises map data corresponding to the first real estateproperty.
 20. The computing system of claim 16, wherein said identify ageographical area corresponding to the first real estate propertycomprises identifying a geographical area within a predetermined radiusof the first real estate property.
 21. A computing system configured torender a user interface for displaying an evaluation of a real estateproperty, the computing system comprising: a computer processor; a datarepository storing sales data for real estate properties; and a computerreadable storage medium storing program instructions configured forexecution by the computer processor in order to cause the computingsystem to: transmit a first interactive user interface configured toallow a user to select a first real estate property; receive datacorresponding to the selected first real estate property from said firstinteractive user interface; identify a geographical area based on thereceived data corresponding to the selected first real estate property;access the data repository storing sales data for real estate propertiesin the identified geographical area during a first time period; evaluatechange in value of the real estate properties based in part on theaccessed sales data, from the data repository, said accessed sales dataincluding at least a sales prices for ones of the real estate propertiesin the geographic area over the first time period; generate, for thefirst real estate property, a price estimate based at least in part onsaid evaluation of said sale price of real estate properties in thegeographical area over the first time period; generate user interfacedata for rendering a second user interface on a computing device, saiduser interface data including the generated price estimate of the firstreal estate property based at least in part on said evaluation of saidsale price of real estate properties in the geographical area over thefirst time period, said user interface data further including at leastone or more accessed sales data from the data repository for real estateproperties in the geographical area over the first time period; andtransmit the user interface data to the computing device for renderingthe second user interface displaying at least the price estimate of thefirst real property and the accessed sales data, from the datarepository, including said sale price of real estate properties in thegeographical area over the first time period.
 22. The computing systemof claim 21, wherein said user interface data further compriseshistorical values of the first real estate property.
 23. The computingsystem of claim 21, wherein said user interface data further comprisesmap data corresponding to the first real estate property.
 24. Thecomputing system of claim 21, wherein said identify a geographical areabased on the received data corresponding to the selected first realestate property comprises identifying a geographical area within apredetermined radius of the first real estate property.
 25. A method ofmonitoring real estate values comprising: receiving selection of a firstreal estate property from a first user interface; and displaying a priceestimate of a second real estate property in a geographical areaassociated with the first real estate property; wherein, said priceestimate is determined, using a hardware processor, by at least:retrieving sale prices for real estate properties in the geographicalarea of the first real estate property from a first time period; andevaluating how the sale price for real estate properties in thegeographical area of the first real estate property affects a value ofthe second real estate property.
 26. The method of claim 25, furthercomprising displaying a map juxtaposed with an indication of the firstreal estate property.
 27. The method of claim 25, further comprisingdisplaying historical equity of the first real estate property.